Teaching a new language using cognates can be an effective and engaging approach, especially when dealing with languages that share a significant amount of vocabulary due to common origins. When introducing cognates to your students, it is helpful to start by creating a list. Here are some tips to consider when incorporating cognates into your class:
1. Find Similar Words: Look for words in the new language that look or sound like words in a language your students already know. These are called “cognates.”
2. Write the word: Something that’s helpful is writing the cognate for students to see the similarities.
3. Start Simple: Begin with basic words that people use a lot. These words are easier to learn and will give your students a strong start.
4. Show the Likeness: When you teach the cognates, point out how they look or sound alike in both languages. This makes it easier to remember them.
5. Use Pictures: Make learning more fun by using pictures. Show the words in both languages with their meanings and pictures that show what they mean.
Playing with Cognates in Spanish Class
This is a game that I use in my classes, and my students love it, so I thought I would share it with the teaching community. In preparation for this game, you will need to print at least 6 sets of the cards, and if you can, laminate them for durability. Review or introduce the concept of cognates before playing the game. I always like to start by talking about what a cognate is. Show your students the image with all the pictures and read them to your students. You can also use the small cards to review or introduce the vocabulary. Ask them if they know about other cognates to share with you. Then, talk about the rules of the game. This game is based on a few games known in the market. There are different versions, but I really wanted and needed one focusing on cognates. I have named this one “Busca.” Discuss the rules with your students.
The main goal of the game is to be the fastest to identify a matching cognate between cards. To get ready for the game, print a few sets, shuffle the cards, and give each student a card. Next, they will need to find a partner in the room. Both should cover their cards and say “1,2,3, ¡busca!” Then, they show the cards to each other and try to find the matching image. The student who finds the image first gets to keep the other student’s card. The student left without a card should get a new one. I’m usually the person passing out the cards. The game continues until you run out of cards, and one student is left with many of them. For a shorter or more challenging game, you can set a specific time limit for each round (e.g., 10 seconds).
Ready to play it in your classes? Click on the picture to download the 36 cards for the game!
I compiled a few jokes to use with my 5th grade students weekly. I plan to use them on Thursdays for “Jueves de ja ja ja”. I decided to re-create them to make them more elementary student-friendly. I really want to grow this list, so if you have or know of any other short and easy to understand jokes in Spanish, feel free to share them in the comments.
If the jokes are understandable, they are a wonderful teaching tool to lower the affective filter and generate a comfortable learning environment for students. I like to use them at the beginning of class. An easy way to do it is to project the joke on a screen and give students some time to look at them and to convey meaning. Then we talk about them and the words they might not understand. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Click HERE to download them all. Have an awesome “Jueves de ja ja ja.”
As a CI Spanish Teacher for 4 years now, I have seen firsthand how Comprehensible Input can work wonders to best promote Spanish language acquisition in young learners. This involves using language and repetition at the appropriate proficiency level of students and teaching the language in “context” in a variety situations. It capitalizes on young learners’ innate ability to learn languages and is quite different than the way the majority of today’s adults (parents and fellow educators alike) learned languages. It moves away from thematic units where the vocabulary is disconnected, to instead focus on teaching high frequency vocabulary in context.
Comprehensible Input (CI) is a concept in language acquisition that suggests learners acquire language most effectively when they are exposed to input slightly above their current proficiency level. This idea, introduced by Dr. Stephen Krashen, emphasizes understanding and meaningful communication over rote learning and memorization.
When you hear “CI is not a method, it’s a mindset,” it highlights that CI transcends structured methods or specific teaching techniques. Instead, it’s about embracing an approach where the primary goal is to make language input understandable and engaging for learners.
INPUT, INPUT, INPUT: COMPREHENSIBLE AND COMPELLING
The idea is to provide enough exposure to the input to help young learners feel safe and comfortable in the target language and ensure the teacher uses the target language at least 90% of the time. The goal is not grammatical perfection or even much focus on explicit analysis or writing. In fact, it’s much more important to focus on building oral proficiency and an ear for the Spanish language as well as empathy for and interest in other cultures (where, for example, it’s vital to counter stereotypes and correct misconceptions).
CI IS FLEXIBLE AND YOU WILL NEVER GET BORED WITH SO MANY STRATEGIES TO CHOOSE FROM
One of the things that I love about being a CI Spanish teacher in an elementary world language program is the flexibility of the curriculum and how dynamic the process of creating it can be. I see a curriculum at the elementary level as something that is constantly evolving in relation to the interests of the students, collaboration with other subjects / teachers, use of technology, and attention to current events. I have been lucky enough to be an active part in the creation of the Spanish curriculum at many schools where I have taught. With CI, I feel that I have been able to use an ever greater variety of teaching tools in my professional practice. This image created by Sra. Dentigler’s blog shows different CI strategies, and has inspired me to create a puzzle showing the ones I’ve used the most with my elementary students.
Click HERE to open the link on every piece of the puzzle.
UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF YOUR STUDENTS IS IMPORTANT
As an elementary-level teacher, it is also important to understand the different developmental stages of students when planning a curriculum. This is key to learn when to start introducing simple reading and writing skills in the target language and also to plan the kinds of activities needed to support the curriculum. For example, the younger the students are, the more they will need to move! In keeping with the Natural Approach, working on listening skills and allowing space for students to be exposed to a lot of input in the early years will create the foundations for later years. I enjoy being able to inject my own or my team’s creativity in the curriculum. I lately have discovered my love for Story Listening with the younger grades.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOUR STUDENTS CAN DO, NOT ON THE MISTAKES
In practice, I work hard to let my students know that it is okay to make mistakes and that being uncomfortable, vulnerable, even silly is just part of learning a language. My classroom is a safe space to learn by doing, pushing each other out of our comfort zones. I use Spanish without breaking into English approximately 95% of the time. I use gestures and questions to check for understanding. Games and music are teaching instruments that I use a lot in classes.
¡SÍ SE PUEDE! YOU CAN INCORPORATE CULTURE IN YOUR CI CURRICULUM
I am a “culture lover” and enjoy when there is space in the curriculum to share with my students about the cultural diversity of Spanish speaking countries (and yes, I include “La Guinea Ecuatorial”). Of course, being from Colombia means that my students get to learn a little bit more about the Colombian culture (and the great diversity that exists there) than any other Spanish-speaking countries. I use authentic resources and materials in class.
THERE IS ROOM FOR COLLABORATION WITH OTHER TEACHERS
As a specialist (non homeroom) teacher, I feel it is key that the school community works together to provide a rich curriculum and experience for students that is both nurturing and challenging. I work hard to negotiate with and understand the needs and interests of classroom teachers, and I am patient but firm, particularly because this approach to teaching a language requires a fair amount of re-education. See my post on the monarch butterfly migration to learn how I have collaborated with other teachers in the past.
I also recommend Mundo de Pepita’s blog if you are looking to learn more about CI at the elementary level!
A few years ago I wrote a short story to use with my students to make a curricular connection with the butterfly life cycle in second grade science class. It is a twist on ” The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, which many of my students are already familiar with, and it’s also a popular title in kindergarten. This new version I created of my own story has more repetition and simple structures.
Before teaching the story you might want to pull out a map and point at the different countries mentioned in it: Colombia, México, La República Dominicana, Cuba, Argentina, and Perú. There are some traditional dishes mentioned in the story. You might want to talk about them. This will also be a great opportunity to talk about your students’ favorite food.
Pre-teach some of the vocabulary using TPR: va, tengo hambre, come, canta, duerme and dice.
Read the story to your class. Some questions you might want to consider while reading the story.
¿Dónde está la oruga? ¿Está en Colombia o Bolivia?
¿Qué come la oruga en Colombia? ¿Come pizza? ¿Come sancocho?
¿Qué hace la oruga? ¿La oruga duerme o corre?
¿La oruga es un perro ahora ? ¿La oruga es un perro o una mariposa?
¿La oruga dice “hola”? ¿La oruga dice “hola” o “adiós”?
After reading the story I like going back and talking about each picture. Talk about the colors in the different flags included in the story.
Act it out! You can have individual actors or have different groups going to different places. Print some masks, pictures of the different foods and flags of the countries included in the story.
Click HEREto download the story “La oruga va Latinoamérica.”
This story is a great follow up of the story I do during the fall called “Monarca va a Michoacán.” I also use this story to create a connection with their science curriculum, as well as to create a cultural connection with “El Día de los Muertos” celebration in Mexico. Read more on how I use “Monarca va a Michoacán” here!
If you don’t know the “Running Dictation” activity, this link has a great explanation about it. This game is a variation of the Running Dictation. I call it “Telephone Dictation” just to give it a new name, but I am sure someone else has adapted it too. I have used it with third and fourth graders, but I am sure it works with upper levels as well.
You will need:
A clipboard.
Five pieces of blank paper.
A pencil.
A chair or a place to put the sentences.
Five or more sentences.
I divide my classes in groups of three or four. Each group gets a clipboard, a pencil, and five pieces of paper. Then I instruct them to sit in a line. I place all the materials in front of the line. I also place a chair with with 4 or 5 sentences at the end of the line. I recommend not using more than 5 sentences with lower grades.
The student who is at the end takes a sentence and reads it to the student sitting in front of him/her. Then that student whispers the sentence in the ear of the next student. They keep passing the message along until it makes it to the student at the front of the line. That student takes one of the pieces of paper and writes the message. When that student is done, he goes to the end of the line, takes a new sentence, and it starts all over again. I ask the student at the end of the line who is reading the sentence to crumple it up once they are done reading it.
Once they are all done with the sentences they have to get together to organize them and make sense of them. Taken together, the sentences usually relate to a story or book we are reading in class.
Are you ready to try this activity in your next class? Let me know how it goes!
